Obama: ‘I Would Not Let My Son Play Pro Football’

President Obama spoke out in a New Yorker interview, acknowledging that football players can get life-threatening concussions.

“At this point, there’s a little bit of caveat emptor,” Obama said. “These guys, they know what they’re doing. They know what they’re buying into. It is no longer a secret. It’s sort of the feeling I have about smokers, you know?”

In August, the NFL agreed to a $765 million settlement in a lawsuit brought against the league by former players. The league did not admit any liability or that brain injuries were the result of playing football, but the money will be split among former players and medical researchers. A federal judge has not yet approved the deal..

Obama said that while the risks were understood, if he had a son, he would not allow him to play professional football.

“I would not let my son play pro football,” he said. “But, I mean, you wrote a lot about boxing, right? We’re sort of in the same realm.”